Can the US military help Libyan rebels oust Muammar Qaddafi? Four options.

As violence in Libya increases, US officials have promised that the administration is exploring “all possible options for action” against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi. But what are steps the US military could take to aid rebels, and how feasible are they?

2. Move in a Navy carrier group

US Navy/Reuters/File
The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise transits the Suez Canal in Egypt on Feb. 15. The Enterprise is headed into the Mediterranean Sea near Libya.

The Pentagon is, in the words of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, “looking at a lot of options and contingencies.” But it has already put one plan into motion, moving “several” US Navy ships closer to Libya. The ships “will be entering the Mediterranean shortly,” Mr. Gates said in a press briefing Tuesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has tried to ratchet down the threats, saying, “There is not any pending military action involving US naval vessels.” Gates, too, emphasized that the ships heading towards the Mediterranean would help provide “capability for both emergency evacuations and humanitarian relief” in Libya

But simply moving a US Navy carrier strike group “in the direction of Libya is a very, very powerful signal,” says Raymond of the US Army War College. “Maybe it’s not going to launch a single aircraft, but the fact that it’s moving there and is on-station and able to do so can be a significant message.”

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